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  • 1.  Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 19-06-2023 16:09
    Edited by Anshula Venkataraman 19-06-2023 16:13

    While public markets continue to see more standardised reporting and disclosure such as SFDR, as well as access to data, private markets and alternatives are still challenged by a lack thereof according to LGT's Tycho Sneyers.

    I think this article is important to highlight that even large organisations are still finding it a challenge to access data in a timely and consistent way to be able to report and meet sustainability standards, though initiatives such as the ESG Data Convergence are helping address this. For any private equity or alternative investors out there, this is an opportune time to join initiatives to speed up this process. 

    To our community, do you agree? What are the most pressing data gaps that our industry should prioritise?



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    Anshula Venkataraman
    Senior Investment Analyst
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  • 2.  RE: Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 19-06-2023 16:59

    hi Anshula, thanks very much.

    Hello everyone,

    In addition to Anshula's question, I'd like to also ask would the community be interested in meeting data companies in one of our online networking meetups? 



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    Aya Pariy
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  • 3.  RE: Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 20-06-2023 10:59

    Hi Aya,

    Yes,  I think that would be great. As an institution, we've been in touch with a few data companies on how they can improve their ESG offerings.

    In fact, Bloomberg has a private chatroom of users that regularly provide feedback on what they want to see in the platform or discuss various ESG themes. 

    I think data on private companies is very important, otherwise ESG managers will naturally be drawn towards the bigger, public companies not because they have more sustainable practices but rather because the data is there. 



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    Jonathan Quiogue
    Treasury Manager
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 20-06-2023 17:27

    Hi All,

    I'd like to add my agreement that ESG data for private companies is increasingly important.  While data can be obtained, we have found that this tends to depend upon either direct disclosure of that data or specialist research.  And both of those can lead to challenges for comparability etc.

    It would be great to hear from the data companies too.

    Thanks

    Jonathan



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    Jonathan Taylor
    Senior Product Manager, Performance Measurement, Risk & ESG
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    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 20-06-2023 21:51

    Private markets definitely face challenges due to limited access to data. Initiatives such as the ESG Data Convergence mentioned by Anshula or the UNPRI Factor Map are helpful tools to increase data coverage and data sharing amongst stakeholders. The UNPRI Factor Map, for instance, was designed to facilitate collaboration between sponsors, co-investors and lenders and integrates existing ESG standards and frameworks. To bridge the gap, data providers can be helpful as long as they can provide solid methodology behind the proxy data. Users of proxy data must also be mindful of how these data points fit in with their broader data set, assumptions and methodologies. It would definitely be interesting to meet data companies and understand (and compare!) their offerings... When one company gets different assessments from different data providers that's when it gets interesting!



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    Béatrice Desjardins-Méthé
    Legal Counsel
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  • 6.  RE: Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 22-06-2023 09:34

    Definitely agree! Working for a ESG ratings provider, it's something we identified as a big gap in the market as most ratings focus on public markets. We have a whole (fastly-expanding) team dedicated to tailored ESG scores for leveraged finance:

    https://www.sustainablefitch.com/products/esg-scores

    A very interesting topic!



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    Katy Husband
    ESG Ratings Analyst
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  • 7.  RE: Improving ESG data in private markets is critical to meet sustainability standards

    Posted 14-08-2023 14:20

    Hi Anshula! Great to see this thread. We're currently doing some research on the data that analysts want to utilise in their work, but can't. 

    If folks can spare 5 minutes to complete the following form, we'll enter you into a prize draw - the winner will receive £100 to donate to a climate cause of their choice  https://tally.so/r/wA28JB 

    Thanks! 

    Ellie, oodax.co 



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    Ellie Howard
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